Dark Obsession

Chapter Three: The Stranger in the Reflection

By the third day, sleep had become a luxury I couldn't afford.

Every creak in my apartment made me flinch. Every knock on the door tightened something inside me. I kept the blinds drawn, the lights on, the news playing in the background just to drown out the silence.

And yet… he was louder than silence.

I didn’t know who he was—not really—but he had a presence. A heaviness. Like the moment before a storm, when the wind stops and the world feels held in a breath.

I began seeing him… or rather, something like him… in reflections. Once in the window of a passing car. Another time in the glass door of my office building. A tall, dark figure—always behind me, never beside me. When I turned, nothing was there. Nothing ever was.

I started to doubt my mind. Maybe I wanted to see him. Maybe the fear had grown into something familiar, something I couldn't unsee anymore.

Then came the third note.

This one wasn’t in my locker, or on my car. It was inside my apartment—placed on the bathroom mirror, just above my reflection.

> “I like the way you breathe when you’re alone.”

That one shattered me.

I called the police. They came, asked questions, looked around. Took photos. Promised to file a report. But there were no signs of forced entry. Nothing stolen. Just a note.

Just… me.

They left with polite warnings. Lock your doors. Watch your surroundings. Call if anything else happens.

I didn't sleep that night. I couldn’t even cry.

That was the night I knew—I wasn’t just being watched.

I was being invited into something.

And I was afraid I had already accepted.